my BAFF
by collierider12
Summary: one absol, at the brink of death, finds comfort in one human boy. what does B.A.F.F mean? well read and find out.


**Before we begin, I just want to say this isn't a sexfic, unlike my predecessors, I was originally going t make this one big story but do to the length I have planned, it has made that task almost impossible due to my schedueled task. In the meantime, I did try and use some, if not, most of my time into putting this together, I do plan on continuing rebuilding my world btw. In the meantime please enjoy this chapter. It took a longer time than I expected to finish it, sorry for any grammer problems, I think I got them all.**

Thunder roared as rain fell in the night sky. Each drop hitting the ground a split second before the other in hard loud pats. Trees surrounded our setting as lightning struck across the sky, the moon completely blocked out by the night clouds. With the trees swaying violently in the wind. Nocturnal critters scrambling in the cold rain and wind in search of places to hide.

In amongst to all of this sat in a cave, a very frightened, very hungry, very wet female absol, who shivered in her cold dark hideout. This particular Absol was not a good fighter, and considered herself lucky to even sometimes find things to eat. Other absols made fun of her for her weakness. A lot of the time they would shove her or steal whatever food she had when she wasn't looking. As for her cave, you ask? Well that is another story.

Absol used to have a nest with another group of Absols she used as protection, though they weren't very friendly to her, she found they were at least decent enough to spare her scraps of food. Then came mating season, something in which all the male absols looked forward too. As the day came by another Female walked into the group asking to be a part of their group for the upcoming season. All the other absols seemed to agree, but there was one problem. There wasn't enough room for her to fit in, someone needed to be kicked out. Every absols eyes turned to our character. No matter how much she begged or even cried she got kicked out of her original home, and now on the night of mating, here she sat alone. Not only is she wet, hungry, and frightened, she now was alone.

Another lightning bolt struck across the sky along with a loud boom of thunder. She scooted closer to the wall. Even though her body was practically flat against stomach growled like how it did a couple of minutes ago. All she could do was put her paw under her stomach, on the night of the mating season; every berry within their range was picked by the absols.

There was a big feast in which every absol that had a mate could join in. the only problem is that this left every berry bush in the area picked, leaving none for her. Not like she wanted to go out anyway, she was terribly afraid of thunder, a fear she had since she was a newborn.

At this point all seemed hopeless for her, no food, no mate, and no strength. Everything she needed was gone. There was nothing she could do, that was, before fate shined mercy on her.

A father and his son walked through the night, a flashlight beamed from the father's hand.

The son carried a backpack filled with materials, tonight was a special night for the son indeed."Um, dad, you're the park ranger, isn't it kind of illegal for you to steal a Pokémon from a reserved area." The son asked."Now mike, you know that there is no Pokémon catching on the park grounds, so were doing this the old fashioned way, were going to let you make friends with a Pokémon and let it follow you out of grounds before you catch it." He explained."But what if I get attacked." The son asked.

"Don't worry I put some bait in your backpack so you can distract the Pokémon while you make a run for it." He reassured. "I also put some firewood and some lighter fluid in there as well, along with some food.""That would explain why it's so heavy." He muttered to himself. "And besides son, you're fifteen, it's about time you got your first pokemon." The father father suddenly stopped and turned off his light."Alright son, this is where we depart, I'll come back tomorrow night, and if you get into trouble I put a beacon in your backpack, just flip the switch and I'll get there as fast as I can." He instructed.

As the father left, mike stood there unsure of which direction to go. After some thought he decided to head southwest. He walked for a while taking caution with every step he took, he didn't want to run into an aggressive Pikachu or hoothoot without any actual protection. As he continued he noticed a shape behind some bushes. He looked through and his jaw dropped. A ninetails curled up before him. Mike stood there unsure of what to do next. Maybe if he offered it some berries it would be stepped forward slowly making sure not to surprise it. He stepped a couple more feet.

SNAP!

A twig suddenly broke below Mike's feet. Immediately the ninetails eyes shot open alerted by the sudden sound. It got up and walked toward Mike, stood there frozen by the pokemon that was as big as him. The ninetails gazed into his eyes with a piercing stare. Mike slowly reached for his ninetails growled making Mike retract his hand back to the right side of his body, his entire body stood stiff, unsure of what next move to make. The ninetails started sniffing around his feet and stopped at his back pack. It lifted its head and withdrew the scent of food. The Ninetails immediately saw her chance for a late night snack, 2 if Mike tried to run. As Mike stood there in panic he felt her muzzle pushing into his backpack. Mike slowly removed his book bag from his back and slowly set it on the ground, he took a couple steps forward but stopped when the ninetails growled again.

The ninetails got in front of Mike and started shoving him back with her muzzle. Mike eventually turned around and faced his book bag. "She probably smells the food inside." He thought.A light bulb went over Mike's reached for the bag and unzipped it, He grabbed some of the bait out of the bag. He held it up for the ninetails to observe. It seemed to catch her attention. Mike threw it to his left in order to buy him some time. The ninetails walked over and picked it up and started chewing the bait.

Before she could finish, Mike zipped up his back pack and ran for dear life. He could tell she would find him missing any second. He just kept running and running for some sign of safety. After some distance he stopped for a second "Maybe she isn't following me." He thought. Suddenly the sound of heavy paw prints echoed in the distance along with a growl, a hungry, agitated growl. Mike looked all directions for a hiding place. The footsteps were coming closer, and rapidly. With quick timing Mike jumped into a bush and crouched down.

The ninetails burst through the clearing and ran right past him and his hiding spot, Mike waited for her to completely disappear. He got out and quickly ran for another spot before she started retracing her walked a while before he spotted a cave. "Well it may be dark and crappy, but it's better than nothing."

Here in that cave sat our Absol friend, still huddled against the cold dark cave wall, eyes closed like they were glued sat there shivering, waiting for the daylight to come. Another boom came from outside and she jumped. She opened her eyes and looked at the front of the cave, she thought she could see a figure standing the in the doorway. A bright streak of lightning illuminated the cave for only a split second, but it was enough for her to definitely see that there was a figure standing there, then it started moving toward her.

In an act of desperation she started clawing the back wall of the cave, hoping for some magical door to open, anything to keep her away from a fight, especially now. She turned around to see that the figure was reaching for something behind its back. The absol covered it's face waiting for its beating that was about to pursue. A zipping was heard; suddenly something warm covered her back. "Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you." The voice assured. The Absol uncovered her eyes. And noticed a blanket was covering her, the figure was now sitting next to her. Even though the figure revealed itself to not be a threat she still felt nervous. "You're not?" She asked

"No, I just came here to rest, sorry if I startled you." He apologized. "I wasn't startled I was just… sharpening my claws." She replied embarrassed. Mike looked at her with a weird look on his eyes, both his face, and the Absol's red hue from embarrassment, were shaded by the darkness of the cave. "You know, it seems a little cold in Here, let me set up a fire" he said reaching for the fire wood in his back pack.

After some scrambling and arranging Mike set up a fire and poured the lighter fluid on the tips of the logs. Mike lit the tips which illuminated the cave in a bright orange glow. This way both the Absol and Mike could inspect each other better. The Absol looked like most other Absols Mike had seen in picture books, but he hadn't seen her stomach yet due to the blankets shading. The Absol noticed that Mike had black hair and grey eyes, he didn't seem strong, he looked sort of like a toothpick to her, and this thought amused her. But the eyes she was curious about.

"I've seen some humans in my day, but I've never seen any with grey eyes before?" She asked. "It's a birth effect I got, doctors say it's the weirdest thing he had ever seen, and that there was no explanation for it." Mike replied. For some reason the Absol couldn't look away from his eyes, they were weird, but oddly hypnotizing. Mike just smiled. "What you're doing is natural for me." He spoke, breaking her stare, and replacing it with confusion.

"Everyone reacts the same way when they see my eyes, they eventually get over it." He commented. Mike would have continued explaining had a low rumble not broke into his conversation. The Absol looked down at her stomach. "You wouldn't happen to have any food would you?" She asked.

This surprised Mike; Most Absols are selfish and self-caring in this area, why was this one so open to needing help? Mike reached into his bag and pulled out a couple different varieties of berries, he Held them out for her to take a pick from, expecting her, like a lot of other Absols, be picky and only chose one. Absol's mouth watered as she saw the small pile in his hands, it felt like forever since she had any one of these berries in her mouth.

To Mike's surprise, She dove her face into every berry he had in his hand, he was afraid she would accidentally bite his hand off, or at least pierce the skin with her teeth. When the Absol finished having her small meal, she breathed a sigh of relief; she felt her stomach pains lower, but not completely fade. The Absol looked at Mike again and asked for more food. This surprised Mike for a third time, He knew that it was rare for Absols to ask for help, but twice in a row? Suddenly a rumble of thunder came from outside. Mike looked outside the front of the cave, Amazed at how loud the blast was.

"Quite a thunderstorm out tonight." He joked as he turned back to Absol, he was surprised instead to see a blanket with a horn sticking out from it, He also found it weird to find it was shivering as well. "Is something wrong?" He asked, confused by the Absols weird behavior. The Absol let a red hue grow on her face, but it was blocked by the covers. "I have this fear of thunder, I can't help it." She admitted, bracing herself for a taunt or laugh.

Mike just looked at her odd, and then he smiled. "It's ok, everyone has a fear they can't get over." He said patting her back. This surprised The Absol and caused her to poke her head out from under her little blanket dome. "You mean you're not going to laugh at me?" She asked. Mike responded with a weird look. "Why would I laugh you, I have a fear as well, and it's kind of childish." He replied rubbing his arm.

"Really, what is your fear?" She asked. Mike started to rub his head whether to tell her or not, but just decided to tell her the truth. "I have a fear of clowns." He replied. "Clowns? What are clowns?" She asked. Mike expected that she would say that but just replied with. "It's better you not know."

Another blast of thunder boomed across the sky making the Absol retreat under her blanket dome again. Mike patted her back, which she found soothing, but she still didn't find it enough to bring her out twice. Her stomach rumbled again. "So about food?" She asked again. Mike just smiled. "I think I have a can of soup I can cook up for the both of us." He replied reaching once more into his bag.

Mike pulled out a pot and some bowls, along with the can of soup he promised. While he wasn't looking she used her claws to pull the can towards her, Mike turned around and noticed her "sneaking" the can and watched in amusement. Once the can was under the blanket and within reach of her mouth she started nibbling the can, only to find it hard and lacking of taste. Mike chuckled at this, even though he couldn't see it, he could still hear her nibbling at it.

"What kind of food is this?" She asked in disappointment. "The food's inside the can." Mike answered her. The Absol looked at the can, unknowing of how to open it. Mike let her fumble around with it for a little while, while he set up the basic cooking area.

After some time the Absol gave up and pushed it away from herself. Mike just smiled and pulled a device out of his backpack. He put the wheel on one end and simply started cranking the windup key on the other end, the Absol watched in amassment as the Can started to slide open. "How did you do that?" She asked in wonder. Mike just chuckled. "It's called a can opener; we use it to open things like this." He said holding the now lid-free can.

Mike poured the cans ingredients into the pot and let it sit there for a while; the Absol sat there anxiously waiting for it to be ready. Suddenly another boom rattled the sky, and the Absol once again headed into her blanket dome. Mike decided to help her with her problem. "Hey, um, what is your name anyway?" He asked. The Absol poked her head out, and then looked away from him. "The truth is, I don't really have a name." She replied. "Really, why. What have the others been calling you by?" He asked. "My mother died when I was being given birth too, my father was never seen because he died in a fight with an arbok." She replied. "Ever since I was born, other Absols just called me nameless."

Mike listened in sadness as she went on to explain how hard her life had been, the bullying, her crying at night, and even the part about getting kicked out of her group. "So you've been through a lot huh?" He asked. The Absol just nodded. Mike sat there until a light bulb came over his head.

"I know, how about I give you a name." He offered. The Absol poked her head up in interest. Mike rummaged through a list of names before finally deciding on one that fit. "How about, Malina." He asked. The Absol smiled and nodded, she liked this name. "Alright, now Malina, about your fear of thunder." He said, getting back to her fear. "I think I have an idea to help you." He offered. Malina once again found herself interested.

Mike waved for her to come over to him. She did just as she was asked. Mike sat her on his lap and put both claws on each of his shoulders, he then put her head on one of his shoulders. Malina's face had a red hue on it once more. "Um, what is this?" She asked. "It's called a hug, in some cases, it can be very helpful." He replied smiling.

Despite her red hue, she actually found it comforting. Another Boom came from across the sky. This time Malina didn't flinch. This time she just gripped Mike's shoulders harder with her claws. While it did hurt a little Mike didn't mind. "See, that wasn't as scary that time, was it?" He asked. All Malina did was nod, the warmth from his cloths and from the blanket were making her drowsy. After a while she decided to close her eyes for a short nap.

She woke up when a small tap landed on her shoulder."Foods ready." Mike alerted. The Absol let herself down and waited for Mike to pour her a bowl. Soon a bowl was placed before her. She plowed into it without any hesitation. Mike was just about to take his first bit out of his soup. when he noticed the empty bowl and some of the vegetable and sauce bits on her face. Mike almost dropped his spoon. In the time it took him to pour and almost take a first bite into his soup; she already finished her first bowl? Mike picked up her bowl and poured her another serving. Mike got only two spoonful's this time before she finished. Mike noticed the Excessive amounts of bits of food and spice bits on her face were now almost entirely covering her face.

Mike just chuckled and pulled out a napkin from his backpack. He wiped the food of her face and poured her another bowl. This time it took her a bit longer, this time Mike got in four spoonful's before she finished. "Are you full yet?" he asked. Malina just nodded and burped her satisfaction. She eventually found herself getting drowsy again. She Curled up into a ball, and once again fell asleep under the blanket. Darkness was soon replaced with visions, she saw Mike and her together, but Mike seemed angry with her, and at the same time, she was angry, yet afraid of him. They were yelling at each other, but all Malina could hear was jumbled words she didn't understand, Mike eventually stopped yelling and just stomped away, leaving Malina there all by herself. The Malina in her vision started to cry, she was crying like she had lost her greatest treasure, or a very important family heirloom. Malina watched herself cry for what felt like hours, eventually the dream Malina just got up and walked off in a different direction.

Malina couldn't tell why, but she felt alone. A loud boom interrupted her sleep, sometime must had past, because the fire was now nothing but glowing ashes, and Mike had fallen asleep on the cave floor with a second blanket around himself. Malina found herself once again nervous, of both the darkness, and again the chance of random thunder booms. Malina walked over to Mike, who was knocked out cold, and snuggled up to him, although it was no hug, she found herself once again in comfort. It took her a little bit longer to fall asleep, due to the thunderstorm, but after a while she finally found herself in an unconscious state. Malina's eyes opened slightly, she saw Mike still next to her, and she was still underneath the blankets he had given her.

"Good morning." he replied cheerfully. Malina rubbed her eyes with her paw and looked at the front of the cave, the thunderstorm had passed but grey clouds still filled the sky. "Want some breakfast?" Mike asked. Malina yawned, still wondering if her dream was true or not. "Sure I'll have something." She replied. Mike pulled a grittle out from his back pack and found a case with a couple of eggs in it. "Do you prefer your eggs scrambled or whole?" He asked her. Malina looked at him weirdly. "Do you want them chopped into little bits or just one big egg?" He said explaining it the best he could.

"I'll just take little bits." She replied. Mike cracked some eggs and put them on the griddle, on impact they started to sizzle which startled Malina a little bit. "Why are they doing that?" She asked. "It just means they are cooking." He replied. Mike looked back at her and noticed her blanket was wet from her fur. "Here, let me clean that for you." He said reaching for the blanket. "Actually I think I will hold on to it for a little bit longer." She replied quickly, she remembered how her body looked, and if he saw it he would think she would be too weak to be his partner.

"Oh c'mon, don't be ridiculous, it's probably cold by now." He said reaching for it again. The truth was it was cold, in fact freezing, but she didn't want to show her body yet, but before she could move Mike grabbed the blanket off of her. Suddenly Mike stared at her. Her body was thin, very thin. Her ribcage was showing and her under body looked too skinny as well. Malina stood there embarrassed; He definitely would think she was weak now if she couldn't find food for herself. "So that explains why you were so hungry last night." He assumed.

Malina looked down in shame that she had let herself be this weak. "Hey it's alright there isn't anything to be ashamed of." Mike said trying to cheer her up. Malina looked at him in confusion. "How can I not be ashamed of myself, I can't even feed myself, I can't even defend myself from a pidgeot."

"This is why I'm here; I'm here to train you so you can be better than what you are now." He reassured. "You mean, you don't think I'm weak?" She asked. Mike just smiled. "Sure you're not completely fit, but with some hard work we can change that." He responded. Malina stared at him, amazed he was confident in her. Then she remembered something she forgot to do.

"You know, I never got your name?" She asked.

Mike scratched the back of his head. "So that's what I forgot to do last night." He chuckled. "It's mike." He replied holding out his hand. Malina met his hand with her paw. "Thanks for helping me last night." She thanked. Suddenly mike remembered the eggs that were on the griddle. "What do you say we get to breakfast?" He asked. Malina just smiled. "That would be good." She replied.

After breakfast Mike and Malina left the cave back out into the forest. "Well I guess this is the point where I ask?" Mike said to himself. "Ask what?" Malina wondered. Mike turned to her and got on one knee, facing her directly with seriousness in his eyes. "Malina, the reason I'm out in this forest is because I am looking for a pokemon partner to go on journeys with, I'm wondering if you will be my partner." He asked. Malina nodded her head happily. "That's great to hear." He said patting her horn. Suddenly he froze. He started rubbing her horn.

"Is something wrong." She asked surprised by this weird behavior. "You're horn, its dull, most Absol horns are supposed to be sharp." He replied. Mike looked through his bag and found a cooking knife and a whet stone in the bottom of it. Mike took the Whet stone and put it against her horn. "What are you doing." She asked again retracting a bit from is hand. "I'm going to sharpen your horn, you don't have a problem with that do you?" He asked. Malina slowly bent her head towards him, which mike guessed was the signal for him to go ahead.

Mike started to rub the Whet stone across her horn in order to angle the edges to make them sharper. Malina found the movement to be somewhat soothing. After a few minutes of rubbing, Mike brushed off some of the dust the Whet stone left behind and felt her horn once more, this time it felt a bit sharper. "That should be good enough for now." He said putting back the whet stone in his backpack. Malina felt a slight change in swiftness when she swung her horn around. It felt a slight bit more controllable. "Well, if we're going to be partners, the first thing we should do is train." Mike said enthusiastically. "Train? What kind of training?" She asked nervously.

"I understand that you're not a very good fighter." He replied sympathetically. "So I have a plan to make target dummies for you to train on." Malina tilted her head, unaware of what a "target dummy" was. After some time of collecting logs, Malina already felt herself growing tired, it was probably from the lack of protein from not eating for so long. "Alright now we move on to faze 2, building our training center." Mike said eyeing the scenery. After some shuffling Mike found a sizeable meadow in the forest for them to begin with. He set up some logs and made sure they were well put into the ground. As Mike was setting up their training center, Malina found herself curious as to what she would learn from attacking a bunch of logs. After a while the skies cleared up revealing that the sun was in the middle of the sky making it the afternoon. Mike had finally finished their training course. "Now we begin the fun part." Mike said with cheerfulness in his tone, probably from finally finishing. Malina walked over by his side and observed the new training course, it just looked like a bunch of logs and sticks put together. "It's not much, but we work with what we have." Mike replied to her expression. Mike suddenly noticed the time and decided that now would be a good time for a lunch break, plus he needed a drink. Mike pulled some apples out of his bag, and a couple of water bottles and a dish. Malina looked at the rather mediocre meal with disappointment. "That's it, you're not cooking anything?" She asked. Mike looked at her with surprise, and then understood what she was asking. "If either of us is going to get into shape to travel the world we need to start building better bodies for the both of us." He replied pouring water into the dish and putting it at her feet. "That includes limiting our meals." Malina just sighed. "I guess you're right." As Mike took a bite out of his apple, Malina just shrugged, she didn't know what to think of a lunch that was only a couple apples and some water. She took a couple bites of her apple and gulped down some water from the dish. Although they were bland, she found it to be somewhat refreshing. After lunch Mike cleaned up the area and put the water dish back into his backpack. "You ready for the initial training?" He asked, a grin forming on his face. Malina grew nervous and at the same time curious. "I guess." Was all she could reply with.

"Alright then, let's begin with some basic attacks." Mike said stretching. "First, I need, to see your battle stance." Mike instructed. "My battle stance?" She asked confused. "That pose you do before entering a fight." Mike reminded her. Truth was; Malina didn't even know she had to do a battle stance. She just thought it was all battle and win. Malina then tried to position herself in a-close-as-she-could battle stance, even though she had no idea what look she was going for. Mike looked at her confused, most Absols should be able to do something as simple as a battle stance, was she really that bad at combat? "You're stance needs a little bit more work." He said, thinking of a position. "Try sliding your two left paws a little behind your right paws, and angle your horn a little bit downward." Mike instructed. Malina did so to the best of her abilities, Mike found it was somewhat better than her first attempt. "We will work more on your stance later, for now let's get to attacks, to start off with, what moves do you know?" Malina grew nervous, she hadn't used any of her moves in so long; she didn't even know what moves she even had anymore. "You can't be serious." Mike said un-amused when he saw her nervousness. Mike just sighed, training this Absol was going to be a lot harder than he thought, he started thinking of two moves that most Absols knew, the two that came into his mind were tackle, and sword dance. "Well I guess the first thing to do would be to practice your tackle." Mike said with enthusiasm.

Malina vaguely remembered that was one of the moves she remembered. When mike gave the signal, she faced the tree-dummies and angled her horn, with as much power she could pull into her feet, she charged at the tree-dummy. A loud "thunk" was heard upon impact and she felt her horn vibrate as if it hit something hard. Malina looked up and saw her horn was stuck in the tree-dummy; she tugged a bit before it finally released her horn. Her jaw dropped at what she saw. She had hardly put a dent in the tree, there was a mark in it at least, but it wasn't a big one. She was upset that one simple move she could do was so weak. "Again." Mike instructed. Malina looked at him confused. "I hardly put a dent in it the first time, what's a second time going to do." "It will help build strength, the more you do the more you build, now do it again." He instructed. Malina sighed and backed up; with another charge she hit the tree making a large "thunk" once more. She pulled out and observed it once more, the cut was a bit deeper than before, and a little bit wider, she must have angled it a bit different. "Again." Mike instructed once more.

Malina sighed; this was going to be a long training session. After what seemed to be hours of practicing tackling, and a thousand thumps against wood, Malina felt exhausted, like she couldn't take another step. Malina pulled her horn out of the tree once more and took a look at her progress. She had only made it halfway through the tree-dummy and there were still 6 others to do, Malina felt like she was going to die. "Alright that's enough." Mike said letting her finish, Malina instantly flopped to the ground, thanking Arceus himself that she finally got to rest. "In a couple of hours we will practice the sword dance." Mike advised. All Malina could think about was how great the ground felt. Mike checked the sky, judging by the suns position he guessed it was around four. "Hmm, it's too early for dinner; maybe we could get some snacks." Mike suggested. Malina just grunted. "Why don't we find some berries, im pretty sure they would help you build more strength?" Mike suggested. "Don't take it to personally Mike, but I think I got all the "strength I can take for today." She replied exhausted. Mike looked at her and wondered how he was going to get her back into the training spirit. He checked around his bag until he found an ether, A light bulb went over his head. Mike held the ether in front of Malina, "Drink this." He advised. Malina lifted her head a bit and looked a Mike "Do I have to?" She whined. "It will make you feel better." He said taking off the cap. Mike set the bottle in front of her, Malina just sighed, and grabbing the bottle with her teeth she tilted the bottle up allowing the liquid to flow into her mouth. Once the bottle was empty she let it fall to the ground on its side.

Malina felt nothing at first, then some of her muscles started to ease up, then she felt her body stop aching, and finally she could breathe easier. Feeling much better, she got off the ground and twisted some of her legs around, a couple of them made cracking sounds. Malina turned around to Mike who was now grinning. "What was that you gave me just now?" she asked. "It's called an ether, it will restore your strength" Mike replied. Malina got up, feeling full of energy again; she wondered what Mike had in store for her. As you may recall, it was mating season for Absols, so finding berries was a bit of a chore for the both of them, since all most all of the bushes had been plucked of berries it was a little difficult trying to find a couple, let alone even one. After what felt like hours of searching Mike stumbled across a bush and called to Malina who was looking elsewhere.

Malina helped Mike pick some berries off the bush when a voice came from nowhere "What do you think you're doing?" The voice asked annoyed. Mike and Malina looked around and noticed another Absol standing between two bushes. Mike positioned himself behind Malina in case a fight started. Malina recognized the Absol as the one that replaced her in her old group. "Well, well, well, what do we have here; it's the old skin dry, dead weight they called nameless." She insulted. Suddenly she noticed Mike standing behind her holding the berries in his hand. She laughed. "You actually need a human to help you pick berries, my Arceus, no wonder you got kicked out of the group." Malina started digging her claws into the ground; she wanted to rip her head off but knew she wasn't ready yet. "What's the matter, are you scared? " She taunted. Malina tried her best to keep herself out of a fight.

"If you want to fight her, all you have to do is say so." Mike whispered to her. Malina looked back at him, was he serious? This Absol was more powerful than her, there was no way she was going to beat her. "You are just such a wimp." The other Absol taunted again. Then the final straw snapped. Malina turned towards her opponent and got her battle stance ready. The other Absol grinned. "It about time." She said getting into her own battle stance. Malina instantly started regretting her action. Not only was she stronger, she also had a better battle stance, Malina could tell this wasn't going to end well. The Absol charged at Malina, Horn angled down wards to strike her enemy. "Malina use defense stance." Mike ordered. "Defense stance!? What's that?" Malina shouted in thought. But as if responding to some code in her brain, Malina angled her horn down at an angle. The Absol collided horns with her, making a loud thunk and Malina felt herself skid a couple inches on the ground. "Not a bad block." The Absol commented. "But it's going to take more than that to get rid of me." The other Absol suddenly threw her horn up flicking Malina off, with another tackle Malina flew back.

She landed on her back, the breath knocked out of her, due to the stomach impact. Suddenly she heard Mike's voice "C'mon Malina, get back up, it's not over yet." He tried to inspire her. Malina rolled for a bit and finally got back on her paws. Before she could entirely focus again, Mike ordered for another tackle. Once again her Brain and body reacted instantly by Charging at her target at an angle. Before she could angle her horn in time Malina's horn came into contact with Her opponents face, Right on Impact she flung her Horn up and Flicked her off immediately, The Absol Skidded back several feet Before coming to a halt.

The Absol Suddenly felt something trickling down her face, and under her chin. She put her paw under and felt that it was watery; she put her paw up to her face and saw it was blood. Malina's horn had pierced the skin deep enough to make a cut. The Absol removed her paw from her face to show rage. She wasn't having fun anymore, she was pissed.

The Absol charged at her again. Mike once again ordered her to do a defensive stance. She did so and angled her horn at an angle. But to her surprise she jumped right over Malina, Mike suddenly saw a flying Absol with an angled horn flying right at him.

This was the last thing he saw before blacking out.

The Absol stood over the now blacked out Mike, she looked back at Malina and grinned, Malina was filled with horror. "Let's see how well you do without your "Guide" now." She grinned. Malina started to panic, she didn't know what to do without Mike, Absol once again charged at her this time. All Malina could do was close her eyes, and brace herself for a beating. "Malina use Defensive stance." She heard Mike shout. Malina suddenly did as she was told and angled again, surprised that Mike was conscious again. A thunk was heard. Malina opened her Eyes. The Absol had collided horns with her again, but to her biggest surprise, Mike was still unconscious. "Malina use tackle." She heard him shout.

Without a second to spare, Malina flung Absol off of her and tackled her once again; Absol flew back and hit the ground on her back this time. She got back up ready to attack again. Malina prepared herself again, but was surprised when all she did was stand there, she stood there with a dark look, and the blood trickling down her face didn't help make the face look any less creepy. "I won't forget this." She said darkly before jumping behind some bushes and running off, leaving Malina there confused. "I won?" she thought. Malina quickly dismissed this thought and ran to Mike. Mike was unconscious but didn't seem to have any major wounds, a scratch was had been implanted where the impact was. Malina sat next him, hoping he would wake up soon.

After about an hour, Mike slowly regained consciousness, with a blurred vision, and a slight headache. He saw Malina hovering over him with both worry and relief in her eyes. "Mike are you alright, can you hear me, follow my paw." She said waving her paw in front of his eyes. "I'm fine Malina, you don't have to worry." He said slightly pushing her paw away. Mike got up and looked around, he suddenly felt the berries in his pocket and pulled them out to check on them, to his surprise they were perfectly fine. "So, did we win the fight?" He asked worried of what she might reply. "Believe it or not, we actually won, but im not sure how." She replied. Mike smiled. "That's great." He said giving her a hug. Malina smiled a bit and blushed, and then she remembered something. "Uh, Mike, can I ask you something?" She asked. Mike pulled away and looked at her curious. "When you were knocked out, did you, perhaps see our battle in some sort of dream?" She wondered. Mike thought about this a second. "I don't remember having any dreams, I just remember the Absol coming at me then, just darkness, why do you ask?" He replied. "Because when I was fighting her, I swore I could hear your voice." She responded. Mike smiled. "You're learning." He told her, she responded with a strange look. "When I ordered you to do those attacks, your brain memorized them, therefore when she attacked you your brain disguised its actions as my voice, and you responded to them the same way you would respond to my commands." He explained. Malina still looked confused, but she got the basics of what he was saying, Mike looked up and noticed the sun was starting to lower. "C'mon my father will be looking for us in a couple minutes, we better go meet him." He said getting off the ground, as he turned to walk off, Malina asked him something. "Where are we going?" She asked.

Mike stopped and turned his head toward her, he smiled. "Towards your new home."

It had been a couple hours and Mike and Malina were still standing by the front gate of the forest. Night had fallen and Mike wondered if his dad had forgotten that he was still even here. Suddenly a light beam came from a distance, Malina hid behind Mike worried of what it might be. Mike father came around the corner holding a flashlight. "Hey son, glad to see you're not mauled. Did you manage to find any pokemon?" he asked.

"Just a couple, but I settled for one." He said looking at Malina.

"An Absol, that's strange choice for a beginner." Mike's father commented. "Why do you say that?" Mike asked. "Absols are known for bad luck." He replied. "Just because we can sense danger with our horn doesn't mean we are bad luck, there is a huge difference." Malina burst in. "Well she seems defensive, something you definitely want in a pokemon." Mike's father commented.

"Well, enough with the intro's let's say we get back to the house." He said with a smile.

As Mike, Malina and Mike's father drove home; Mike got an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Mike's mother was very picky about pokemon, when she would walk past some of those poke centers, poke marts, or even the labs that handed out the starter pokemon, she would always make a comment in a small whisper, but Mike most of the time heard her, usually it was "Too skinny." Or "Off balance and bad accuracy." Mike's mother was always the prejudice type against pokemon; she could always tell if there was a problem. But what about Malina? What if she was too scrappy? What if his mom didn't like her and through her out of the house. Then what? She needed Mike to survive, Mike knew this for sure. With no one else to depend on, Mike was her last defense against death.

Suddenly Mike felt a nudge on his lap; Malina had put her head on his lap and had fallen asleep. Mike just smiled. "Who knows, maybe it won't be so bad, I mean, she does have some charm to her."

Mike rubbed the top of Malina's head, she responded by letting out a relaxed sigh. Mike smiled and laid his head back, it had been a long day for both of them.

Mike's eyes opened again when they were back at the house, Mike must have fallen asleep by accident, the lights inside the car turned on when Mike's dad opened the door to step out. Mike woke Malina up and helped her out of the car.

As Mike looked at his home, he took a deep breath; maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

When Mike stepped into the house with Malina he heard his father whisper to his mother. "Honey, I know you have that little critic in you that always has to say something, but please, just for this once could you put a lid on it." "I'm not sure I can, I just want my little boy to have the best pokemon he can get." She responded.

"Then why didn't we just let him get his own starter pokemon?" he asked.

"I don't trust them; they always have those imperfections that I just can't ignore." She responded.

Mike came around the corner. He told Malina to stay behind the corner so he could surprise her. "Oh, Mike, I didn't notice you there. So what kind of pokemon did you get?" She asked.

Mike waved for Malina to come out of her hiding spot, as she revealed herself to His parents, Mike's mom's jaw would have probably dropped through the floor and hit the core of the earth. She didn't see an Absol; she saw a dirty, off center, scraggy white rag with the strength of a weedle and the accuracy of a blind almost screamed when she saw 's mom swallowed down her criticism as best as she could but one question slipped out. "Wasn't there another, healthier, pokemon you could have found?" She dipped her head; mike kneeled next to her and tried to comfort her. "This wasn't about who had the strongest attacks, or who has the quickest agility, it was about connection, and me and Malina both think it would be a good idea to work together." Mike defended. Malina rubbed her head up against Mike. "Thanks mike." Mike's mother shuddered inside. How could he like something that looked like that? "Well if you say so." She responded, still trying to be cheerful, well I hope you don't mind, but I made a special dinner for you and your "friend"." She replied. The way she put the emphases on "friend" made Malina feel uncomfortable. She felt Ice run up her spine.

After a while Mike's parents set up the table for their dinner surprise, Food was scattered around and Malina felt like she was in heaven. All the food was just waiting for Malina to dig her face in. "Oh, Mike, I don't think Malina should be sitting at the table, or eating human food." His mother advised. "Don't worry honey, lots of family have an average meal with their pokemon, its fine" His father bumped in. Mike's mother gave him a look and sighed. "Fine if you say so." She replied. Mike fist bumped his father under the table when she wasn't looking. Mike picked up Malina's plate and began getting her food. "Anything in specific you want." He asked. "Everything times two." She replied. Mike just smiled and rolled his eyes. He got everything on her plate to the best of his abilities. As Mike set his plate in front Of Malina, she was about to face plant and demolish her food when Mike stopped her. "We have to let the other people get their food first." He said stopping her.

Malina gave him a puppy face hoping he would at least let her have a bite. She used to use her puppy face to guilt other members of her old group to give her more scraps, it usually proved effective. Mike looked at her face for about a half second before crumpling. "Alright fine." He said giving her a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Even though it satisfied her for a couple seconds, she still wanted everything on her plate. The two minutes that it took for everyone to get their plates ready felt like two years to her. When everyone finally got their food, Mike gave Malina the queue that she could eat. Malina instantly dug her face into her food, as Malina dug her face into her plate. Mike's mom kept eyeing her. There was something she felt didn't feel right. Not like in her abilities or in her appearance. But something deep. She suddenly felt a hand on hers. She looked up and saw her husband looking at her. "It's alright honey; Mike and his pokemon are fine together." He said. She just sighed. This wasn't going to change was it? Mike chuckled when Malina came up for air from her food frenzy. Mike wiped her face off with a napkin; it was covered in a variety of foods. She even somehow managed to get a chicken bone stuck on her horn. After everyone had finished their dinner and Malina had her third helping of everything on the table, including 5 brownies from the dessert.

Mike's father stretched and yawned. "Well, that was a great dinner, what do you say we get to bed." He said getting nodded in Mike got into bed, Malina wondered what Mike's mom really thought of her, did she really even like her? Does she hate her? Her mind thinking of the way she referred her as Mike's friend. The way she said once again sent shivers up her spine. Malina's thought train was Brocken when she heard a pat. Mike was patting on the bed. "Hop up if you want." He offered. "But your mom said that she didn't want me on your bed." She reminded. "Don't worry, one night won't hurt either of us." He replied. Malina hopped on the bed and was amazed how soft it was. When she laid down next to Mike, She felt comfortable; at least it was much better than the cave floor. "Mike, do you think you mom likes me?" She asked. "My mom doesn't really, "like", pokemon, she prejudice against them, she just always has to critic every single one she meets." He replied. Malina wasn't really sure how to respond, but she knew there was only one way to find out, but for tonight, it would have to wait, she felt herself already getting drowsy from the warmth of the bed.

Malina felt alone, darkness was around her, nothing was there, nothing to see or feel. Malina felt water running down her cheeks, there was a puddle around her paws. She felt like life wasn't worth living, here was nothing left to feel. At this point, Malina realized something. It's all gone. Malina woke up next to Mike, She was sweaty and breathing rather fast. Malina took a deep breath, after realizing that it was all a dream. She heard footsteps coming down the hallway; she quickly hopped onto the floor and laid down, closing her eyes pretending to sleep. She heard mike's door open and heard a voice "At least she can obey rules." It sounded like Mike's mother, and she didn't seem happy about something. When Mike's mother left, Malina got up and pushed herself out the doorway; it seemed to be early morning since the sun seemed to be just coming up. She heard the mother's voice coming from the kitchen. She headed in the direction hiding behind a corner, listening to the voices in the kitchen. Listening to the conversation going on. "But she is just too skinny; her bones are showing through her skin." Argued the mother.

The father replied, sounding annoyed. "Would you stop it already, Mike made his choice, and so far she hasn't torn his face off, so she's fine to go on an adventure with Mike. And besides, Mike is fifteen; he can make his own decisions by now." "But even you have to admit, she looks pathetic, Mike will be a laughing stock. Everyone he challenges will just beat him; they probably won't last a week out there." She argued. The father didn't reply, for a couple seconds all she heard was a deep sigh. The he replied. "That's one of the things about being a trainer, it's not about getting the best pokemon at the start, its building the best pokemon, and no one but Mike can do that himself, this is going to be Mike's greatest challenge, he doesn't need the easy path by getting some hybrid-perfect pokemon, we don't have a say in this Martha, only Mike decides whether he will keep or leave Malina." "But, josh…." She began. Before she could finish, Malina could hear footsteps walking off. The she muttered. "I'll make sure Mike gets a better pokemon, he isn't going to get some scrappy white rag as his pokemon." With that said, Malina left going back to Mike's room, scared of what his mother might be planning. She sneaked back into Mike's room and hopped up on his bed, she huddled closer to him. At this point she was only scared of one thing, mike's mother. "Please don't leave me Mike, ever." She silently prayed. "Don't worry, I won't." She heard him reply. She opened her eyes and saw Mike smiling, even though his eyes were still closed. Malina felt both weirded out, and safe. The only thing going through her mind now was would Mike keep his promise?

Malina just laid there until Mike finally got out of bed, he got up and yawned, after one night of sleeping in a cave, he was glad to finally be back in a bed. He wondered how wild pokemon could put up with it. After Mike brushed his teeth and changed his clothes, He went to get breakfast. His mother was making scrambled eggs; his dad was usually off working at the lumber yard by now. He always did have odd work hours. Malina decided to stay off the chairs this time, knowing that since Mike's father wasn't here to jump in; Mike wouldn't have much authority against his mother. Mike's mother handed him his plate, Malina looked up and gave his mother a smile while she sat for her food, to her surprise, all she did was look at her with un-amusement and just walked back to the counter. "Uh, mom, don't you think Malina deserves some breakfast too?" Mike asked. "Oh yes, sorry Mikey, I almost forgot, let me see if we have any left over poffins." She said walking off with a fake smile. "Mikey?" Mike thought to himself. "Mom never called me Mikey unless she was hiding something, what could she be hiding now?" When Mike's mother came back, she poured Malina a bowl of poffins, they seemed fine, they didn't have any fungus on them or anything, Malina decided it was better than nothing and took a bite.

That one bite almost sent Malina into dehydration, they were so dry and stale one touch in her mouth and her tongue felt like a dessert. She immediately ran for the nearest source of water, which was the sink, she got up on her hind legs and started drinking the water, even though it was soapy since Mike's mother was still trying to finish the dishes from last night, It was still good enough for her to gasp in relief when she finally swallowed it down. Malina gasped breaths of relief when she finally felt rehydrated. Even though she was still hungry, Malina decided she would rather skip breakfast then choke on stale poffins.

As Mike watched Malina walk out of the room, he suddenly grew suspicious. "So mom." He said turning back to her when Malina left the room. "Tell me what you think of Malina, you must really like her if you haven't criticized her already." Mike's mother quickly started thinking up a lie so that her son wouldn't get suspicious. "Of course I like her sweetie, it's not like she has a million imperfections that make her completely unlikable." She said out loud. Mike looked at his mother strange, what a weird thing for her to say. Before Mike could ask any more questions, Mike's mother said she needed to run an errand really quick, and then quickly left the room. Mike sat there for a second wondering what had just occurred. That was before he remembered Malina had skipped breakfast, he decided to put some bacon and a medium pile of scrambled eggs on a plate and bring it to her. When Mike entered the living room he saw Malina sitting on the couch, someone had left the TV on and she was staring at it weirdly, it was tuned on to the news talking about a current pokemon breakout on some route. "Why are those people in such a small box?" she asked. "It called a TV; it uses electric signals to channel it to this screen." Mike responded. Malina just looked at him strangely; he just smiled and rolled his eyes. He suddenly felt a nudge and saw Malina poking at the plate in his hand. He put the plates in between her legs and allowed her to eat from it. As Malina ate, Mike's mind wondered back to the subject of his mother, what did she really think of Malina? Did she really like her? Or was his mother hiding her true feelings about her. Mike's train of thought broke when he felt something lay down on his lap. Malina had rested her head on his lap and had already finished the plate he had fixed for her. Mike dismissed this thought and just sat down to watch the news with her.

After a while Mike suddenly remembered something they forgot to do yesterday. "Malina it's time to start training again." Mike said starting to get up. "Do we have to?" Malina whined. "The last time we trained I almost collapsed from exhaustion." Mike just looked at her with a smirk on his face. "That's a good thing." He replied enthusiastically. "It means you are getting stronger a little bit more every day." Malina sighed and got off the couch, it seemed like nothing was going to get him to change his mind about training today. Mike walked with Malina to the backyard where they could begin the second part of their training.

Mike looked around,they lived in a small village surrounded by trees, so there was not really much to practice on. Them again the next step didn't really require much to use, it was just a basic offensive power move. "Alright, Malina, lets get to work." Mike began. "The first thing we are going to do today is is to try sword dance." "What the heck is sword dance?" Malina asked. "Sword dance is when you connect to your inner power and release it to give yourself an extra boost." Mike explained. Malina still didn't understand what he was talking about, she didn't even know how to channel her inner energy. Mike tried to remember what he could about the books he read on Pokemon abilities. As far as he could remember that was how the book supposedly explained how it was performed. "Ok the first thing we need to do is get into our battle stance." Mike instructed, Malina tried her best to reposition herself into the stance she had performed yesterday. "Alright, next you need to focus your power." Malina at this point got nervous, if there was a way to power her inner energy she didn't know how to do it.

Mike stared at Malina as she just stood there staring blankly ahead, he was beginning to get worried that he said something wrong. "Malina, are you alright?" Mike asked. Malina snapped back into reality, panicking on what to say next. "I'm fine, just was trying to get my inner energy." She replied sheepishly. "We'll do you think you have it now?" Mike asked. "Yeah I think so." Malina replied, unsure of how she would respond if he caught her lying."Alright, now, release your energy into the air." Mike instructed hoping it would work. Malina suddenly tried forcing her own strength upon herself in hopes she could somehow manage it to work. After 10 seconds nothing happened and she just gave up. Mike just scratched the back of his head. "We'll it was a good effort." He replied awkwardly. "Don't worry, just try again and try harder." Malina sighed and tried again to release her inner energy. After 5 seconds this time, even though she was trying her hardest, all it really sounded like was her grunting louder,she decided to give up. Mike thought about what might be going wrong. Mike wondered if it was something wrong he said or if Malina wasn't really trying. "Alright, maybe we should try something else later, for now let's take a break." Mike said walking back into the house. Malina sighed, was she really this bad? Why couldn't she do something as simple as sword dance. "Maybe I am useless." Malina whispered to herself. "What was that?" Mike asked in the doorway of the house. "Nothing" Malina replied back as she walked back into the house with him.

Malina sat down on the couch in the living room. At this point all she could think about is why she couldn't pull off a move that was as basic as sword dance. Meanwhile Mike went back into his room and opened up the encyclopedia of Pokemon and turned to the page on absols. Mike observed the abilities of what absols were able to learn, maybe sword dance was a more complicated move. Mike looked through and saw that sword dance, tackle, and bite were three basic moves that all absols knew very well. Then why couldn't Malina pull it off. Mike thought about this a while before he remembered he had a book that described each of the abilities.

Mike explored the bookshelf in his room and found a book titled "the big book of abilities." "I never thought that was a creative title." Mike thought to himself. Mike searched through the book and eventually found a passage on the sword dance ability. " _a pretty basic ability among some pokemon_." The boom began. "_While some pokemon learn it at first other learn it later in life. Sword dance is a combination of inner power and self confidence, this ability cannot work without the other."_

Mike stared at the passage. "Malina was so unsure of herself." Mike thought. "She kept calling herself weak. It's self confidence she's missing, which would explain why it didn't work." Mike summarized.

Mikey's thoughts were interrupted when he heard his mother calling from the front yard. Mike got up and went to see what she needed, Malina followed when he passed through the living room. When Mike got outside he saw his mother standing on the lawn with something behind her back. Not only that she was smiling, But in an un-comforting way. Mike walked closer, but made sure to keep Malina behind him just in case.

"I have a surprise for you." She said cheerfully. Mike looked down at Malina, neither of them knew what to expect. Mike mother suddenly tossed something in his hand. It was a pokeball. "Did she get this for Malina?" Mike wondered. "Open it." She instructed still acting cheerful. Mike pressed the center button, a white streak of lightning came out taking form quickly. What Mike saw made his jaw drop. It was a snivy, but not just any old snivy, it was a SHINY snivy. Mike stared at it in disbelief. A pokemon like that would have costed a fortune to get. "I got it off an old breeder down the road." His mother explained. "It's pure bred and is perfectly fit, also it's eyes are 20/20, as is it's smell. Mike couldn't believe what he was seeing, he returned the snivy to his ball and held It in his hand. Something like this would make a great training buddy for Malina. "There however is a problem though." His mother broke in. "By traditional trainer law you can only have one starter. And the nearest pokemart is pretty far. If authorities catch you with two starters you might get in trouble and get your license suspended.

This was true, unfortunately, until the trainer got more poke balls, trainers couldn't get kore than one starter to go along with them, and the nearest pokemart was in another town over. Not to mention police patrolled the area regularly. Malina didn't say anything during all of this, she knew what mike's answer was going to be. There was no way she could compete with a shiny snivy. Mike looked at the poke all in his hand, if he took the snivy with him, the journey would be a breeze, but then what would the point be.

Mike tossed the pokeball back at his mother, she caught it in her hand and looked at him surprised. "Sorry mom, but if I took this pokemon there would be no point in going on this journey, it would be to easy." Both Malina and his mother looked at him in shock, he had chosen a weak absol over a shiny snivy? Mike's mother didn't seem pleased with his answer, she didn't like it at all."You know tons of trainers would be ecstatic to have a pokemon like this." She growled while her grip tightening around the ball. The mother stomped inside without saying a word to either one of them. After a minute Malina spoke up. "You picked me over a snivy?" Mike smiled and nodded. "Does this mean you actually believe in me?" She asked.

"Don't be silly, of course I believe in you, that's the whole reason why I picked you to be my partner, and plus, the journey would have been to easy with that snivy any how." He replied.

Malina's eyes teared up and she wrapped her paws around Mike giving him a hug, she never really believed anyone would actually believe in her. Mike returned the hug and smiled. Malina eventually pulled away and wiped her eyes with her paw. "What do you say we go inside, it's been kind of crazy today hasn't it." Malina smiled and nodded.

As Mike sat in the living room with Malina lying on his lap, even if it was only her head and neck that could fit, Mike kept wondering how he could boost Malina's self confidence. He decided to ask her a question before deciding. "Hey Malina?" He asked

"Hmm?" She asked tilting her head to look up at him.

"How do you feel about yourself?" He asked

Malina thought about this a second. "Pretty good since I figured out you really believe In me, why?" She replied.

"Just wondering." Mike replied looking back at the TV. Mike wondered what he would do to boost herself. Mike decided he would think about this later and decided just to watch TV with Malina for now.

A man was being escorted by cops while his audio was in a cage. "Breaking news, earlier today a man and his pokemon were later seen committing sexual acts in there hotel room, the man at this point has a possibility of 4-6 years in prison or a fine of about 45,000 dollars as regarded by local authorities, as for the audio it has a high chance of being put down." The reporter announced. "People who do this are real sickos." Said a police officer being interviewed. "We don't know where they get the idea that having sex with a pokemon is a good idea, but to all those out there committing this, just know this, you're all some pretty sick (bleep)ers."

"Having sex with pokemon is illegal?" Asked Malina. "Not everywhere, but it is frowned upon." Mike replied. "It's called pokephilia, it happens more often then you think." "Why, you Should be able to pick your lover no matter what they are, it's not like it's going to kill them." Malina replied angrily. "We'll not everyone thinks that" Mike replied. Malina couldn't belive that this was something despised by humans. Pokemon did it all the time in the wild, why couldn't humans. "So in a couple of days were going to begin our journey." Mike began trying to change the subject. "Are you excited as I am?" While Malina was pretty excited, she kept worrying that she might not be strong enough to fight other pokemon. "Can't wait." Was all she replied with.

Later that night after dinner, Mike kept checking over his book on pokemon abilities, specifically on the part about self-confidence. mike kept remembering all the times she was surprised that Mike actually believed in her. Did no one ever believe in her before? And if that is the case, his belief in her should of boosted her self-confidence. Was there something else he was something he was missing?

All the while Malina was lying down on the bed, drifting off to sleep. Some of the last thoughts she had were, "am I really strong enough to take on the world?"

The answer would take years for her to find out.

To be continued.


End file.
